©WHO/Neil Nuia.
Lottie and her newborn baby at the postnatal ward in
the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, Solomon Islands in July 2022.
When 194 World Health Organization Member States endorsed Every newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths (ENAP) in 2014, and several countries adopted Strategies for Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) released a year later, (link to ‘About Us’ page), they signalled a global commitment to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths. These commitments are the more crucial in countries that carry the highest burden of these deaths:
Table 1: Countries with the largest numbers of deaths in 2020
| Country | Total maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths (thousands) | Share of total maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths | Share of total live births | Maternal deaths (thousands) | Stillbirths (thousands) | Neonatal deaths (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
India |
788 |
17% |
17% |
24 |
297 |
468 |
|
Nigeria |
540 |
12% |
6% |
82 |
181 |
277 |
|
Pakistan |
474 |
10% |
5% |
10 |
207 |
257 |
|
Democratic Republic
of
the Congo |
241 |
5% |
3% |
22 |
113 |
106 |
|
Ethiopia |
196 |
4% |
3% |
10 |
83 |
104 |
|
Bangladesh |
121 |
3% |
2% |
4 |
66 |
51 |
|
China |
108 |
2% |
9% |
3 |
63 |
42 |
|
Indonesia |
103 |
2% |
1% |
9 |
38 |
49 |
|
Afghanistan |
95 |
2% |
1% |
9 |
38 |
49 |
|
United Republic of Tanzania |
94 |
2% |
2% |
5 |
43 |
46 |
Note: Total maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths were calculated from unrounded numbers.
Sources: Estimates for live births come from United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022 (https://population.un.org/wpp/). Estimates of maternal deaths were generated by the United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) in 2023. Estimates of stillbirths and neonatal deaths were generated by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) in 2023.
The top 10 countries[4] with the highest burden account for 60% of global maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths, and 51% of the world’s live births.
Countries classified as fragile states[5] continue to have significant burdens of preventable deaths among pregnant women, mothers and newborns, and stillbirths. In these countries, the average annual rate of reduction (ARR) required to achieve the global targets is among the highest.
This disparity between the world’s regions reflects inequalities in access to quality health services and highlights the gap between rich and poor. ENAP EPMM, and now Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere’s approach is focused on equity, with the end goal of leaving no one behind and reaching universal health coverage. It prioritizes countries which are making slow progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths, as well as specific areas with a high burden of deaths within countries.
In 2023, 30 countries have further committed to prioritize maternal and newborn health and the reduction of stillbirths; they have developed a Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Acceleration Plan. More countries have done so since.
Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida. Midwives in Hope Field Hospital, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in September 2020.
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Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida
Midwives during WHO Head of Sub-Office Dr Kai von Harbou visit to Hope Field Hospital
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